Eventide
by DreamFire.Vee
Summary: Emma feels really guilty for ruining Regina's relationship with Robin and can't stand that Regina wont even talk to her. Emma starts to drink after work but somehow always ends up at the Mansion. Takes place after Emma brings back Marian. Slow Burner, Swan Queen, Beginnings of romance only.
1. Chapter 1

Emma sighed as she stood up from behind her dark wooden desk and turned her computer monitor off before grabbing her brown leather jacket from the tall coat rack and shrugging herself into it. She did the zipper up at the front and then hit the light switches on the wall behind her plunging the office and currently empty cells into darkness, the only light coming from the street lighting that was bleeding through the blinds across the large office windows.

It had been a long day for the Sheriff having starting her shift by chasing Pongo around the streets of Storybrooke for a full two hours before she had finally cornered him down at the docks, to be honest it has been a long couple of weeks. After the dog chase Emma had then had to attend a council meeting where Regina had refused to even acknowledge her presence in the room which had left the blonde feeling awkward and disheartened that there had been no progress between the two of them. Following the meeting the Sheriff had spent the rest of the time catching up on some of the week's paperwork, she didn't want to give Regina anymore of a reason to ignore or be angry with her. Now all she could think about was hitting The Rabbit Hole for a few drinks before heading back to the loft apartment and winding down for the evening before it all started again the following day.

The sheriff walked out of the station, locking the double glass doors behind her and heading up the road to the bar, her hands shoved deep into the pockets of her jacket and her head bowed slightly. Main Street was quiet with hardly anyone around, which made the journey a lot smoother for Emma as no one was stopping her to ask her how the Mayor was coping with the sudden end of her relationship with Robin. Also, with Emma walking with her head bowed, she wasn't allowing the few people who were about to catch her eye and stop her from reaching her destination.

Emma ran a hand through her long golden curls as even thinking of the whole messy situation that she had created by mistake with Regina, made her feel uncomfortable and extremely guilty. She knew her actions in the Enchanted Forest were to blame for the Mayors current state of mind and mood, and she hated to see Regina like that, but at the same time how could Emma ever be sorry that she had saved a life. It was just pure coincidence and bad luck that that person happened to be Robin's wife. The whole situation had her very confused and stressed and so drinking after work had become a daily thing.

Emma pushed the front door to the bar open and immediately her senses were over powered by the sights, sounds and smells of the bar. The place smelt of stale beer, sweat and some sort of sickly sweet fragrance which was more than likely a room spray to cover the other smells but was failing. She walked up to the long dark wooden bar and propped herself up onto one of the bar stools. She signaled to the bar tender for her usual, which always started with a shot and a beer. The bar keeper came back over once he had prepared her drinks and placed them in front of where she was sat.

"No change then Emma?" he said in a resigned tone knowing that if there had been any progress the Sheriff would probably not be at the bar. Emma didn't even bother replying, she just gave him a pointed look before she quickly downed the shot, relishing in the burning feeling that was running down her throat and radiating with a glowing warmth outwards and round the rest of her body. She the then picked up the bottle of beer and swiveled slightly on the stool so she could take in the rest of the bar and the people who were currently occupying it.

The bar was fairly quiet but then it was a weekday and so most people would be tucked away in their houses. The bar only ever really got busy on a weekend but it did have its regulars, like Leroy who was currently sat in one of the booths nursing a pint of something, probably beer knowing Leroy. There were a few others dotted around the place but not one person was currently occupying the bars small dance floor.

Emma quickly finished off her beer, drinking it so fast that the taste didn't even register on her tongue. Once again she signaled the bar tender for another round and he got straight to work on preparing her second order, which was always another beer and then a glass of whiskey on the rocks. The bar tender came over and placed these drinks in front of her and again in a very short amount of time she had finished these as well. For the next few hours this was the pattern that she fell into. She drank, watched the people in the bar, ordered another round and then occasionally hummed along to a song if she recognised it.

Somewhere around midnight Emma slid off her stool and on rather unsteady legs that were not cooperating with her in the way she wanted and made her way to the bathrooms situated at the back of the bar. When she exited her stall and came to stand in front of the sinks she realised that she was in fact rather drunk. Emma ran the cold tap and splashed some of the water onto her face and the back of her neck. Leaning over the sink on extended arms she surveyed her blurry self in the mirror and started to contemplate how she had managed to mess everything up so badly with Regina.

Before Emma had got whisked back to the Enchanted Forest for a second time, things between herself and Regina had been going really well. They had come up with a schedule that suited both them and Henry, and they had built their relationship into what Emma had thought was the beginning of a firm friendship, but now that seemed to have completely disappeared and Emma had no clue on how to fix it or even where to begin.

She had promised Regina that she was going to help her find her happy ending and she still meant every single word, but with the brunette avoiding her like the plague and not even acknowledging her she had no idea how she was going to manage to keep that promise. She let out a frustrated sigh and pushed herself back up into a standing position and headed back to the bar where she ordered one last shot before paying her tab and leaving.

Once outside in the cold fresh night air a whole new wave of drunkenness crashed over Emma and she felt extremely unsteady on her legs. This also meant that now the alcohol was affecting her choices and decision making skills and she no longer wanted to head home and sleep it off like she did every other night. She looked up at the inky blackness that stretched out above her, dotted with hundreds of stars and took a deep breath in and out again. Before she really knew what was happening, her subconscious took over and she started to make the walk over to Mifflin Street and the home of the one person who probably didn't even want to see her, let alone in the middle of the night.

Emma stopped in front of the little waist high, black metal gates of the mansion. She chuckled slightly to herself that she found them slightly amusing in her drunken state. To her, the twisted and swirling metal design on the top of the gates looked like two swans facing each other and she wondered why she had never noticed this before now. Shrugging to herself she pushed open the black gates and gazed up at the looming white structure which, to Emma, seemed to be swaying slightly as though caught in a bit of a breeze. She stumbled her way up the path but stopped short of stepping onto the porch. There were no lights on in the house and she was just coherent enough to know that she knew she didn't want to wake Henry.

So instead she turned to her right and headed to the gate by the driveway and garages that led round to the back garden. It took her a couple of attempts to get the gate open as her hand eye coordination was slightly impaired but she eventually managed to open it. She stepped inside and closed the gate behind her. Her first thought was that even in the darkness she could tell that the garden was in an immaculate condition. She turned again and quickly looked over the house and then around the rest of the corner of the garden she was in for a way up onto what she knew was Regina's bedroom balcony.

First of all she clumsily, but thankfully quietly, climbed onto the roof of the large garages with the help from a small storage shed and then walked to the edge where she could just about clamber onto a thick branch of a tree that was growing in close proximity, and then shuffled over to the balcony railing.

How she managed to do this in the drunken state she was currently in amazed her. She was also 100% positive that she was going to regret all of this in the morning, in fact she knew that she would but she had managed to make it this far and it would seem like a completely wasted opportunity if she decided to back out now.

As Emma landed on the floor of the balcony she stumbled only a little, gently knocking into the railing which she in turn used to support herself as she straighten back up and turned to face the balcony door. She tried to peer in through the window but it seemed as though Regina had thick dark curtains drawn over them, probably to stop the bright morning sun from streaming in and waking her. Emma raised one hand and curled it into a fist before tapping lightly on the glass, missing the first attempt as she was having trouble focusing on the distance, but there was no stirring from inside that Emma could make out.

She raised her fist again and this time knocked a little louder. However this was still fairly quiet as she didn't want to wake Henry from his sleep even though his room was down the hallway. The blonde waited again with an ear close to, but not touching, the door but still there was not a sound coming from within. So Emma once again raised her hand and this time knocked with a bit more force than she had intended.

The first wrap she did was on the wooden frame and so was the second, it was loud and clumsy sounding but the third knock was on one of the small pane of glass just to the side of the frame. The hit was hard and a small crack was heard, that in the quiet still of the night, sounded like a gun shot.

Suddenly the dark curtains flew back and Regina was stood on the other side of the door dressed in blue grey silk pajamas and holding a brightly glowing fire ball in her left hand. Despite the fact it was the middle of the night and Regina had clearly jumped out of bed at the noise, her hair was still as perfect as it was during the day and her complexion was soft and smooth in the glowing light. Emma stepped back as soon as the curtains had moved, her back bumped into the railing and her right foot slipped from underneath her, and she ended up in a twisted heap on the floor.

Regina used her other hand to sharply open the balcony door and stepped forward looking down at where Emma was now slumped. She still held the fireball out in front of her in a defensive manner not at all happy that she had firstly been woken from her sleep and secondly that she should find that the cause of the disturbance was Emma.

"And why should I not throw this fireball at you right now, Swan?" Regina sighed in an impatient manner as she watched Emma struggle to get up from the floor and then go back to leaning against the railing behind her. Emma didn't look up at her; she didn't dare see the look that she knew would be gracing the brunette's features. She shuffled her weight from foot to foot not knowing what to say now that she was face to face with Regina and she was actually speaking to her.

"Regina I…" Emma started but she got cut off before she could finish both saying and forming the thought.

"Save it, I don't want to hear it. Now please get off of my balcony and go home." Regina closed her fist to extinguish her fire ball then spun on her heel and stepped back into her bedroom "And you will be paying for the window repairs."

Regina closed the balcony door and drew the curtains back over again blocking Emma out of her life again. The only way back down was the way she had come up, but the fresh air was making her feel more drunk the longer she was out in it and she wasn't sure that she would make it back across the tree branch without falling to the ground below.

Emma ran a hand through her long honey coloured, slightly curly hair. Emma didn't really have a plan in mind when she had decided to pay Regina a visit, but this was far from what she had imagined and it couldn't really have gone worse if she had tried. Not only had she woken Regina from her sleep in the middle of the night, but Emma had also somehow managed to break the glass in Regina's balcony door. Things could definitely have gone better.

Looking over both sides of the balcony she now saw there was a trellis running up the side of the house right to Regina's balcony. She jumped up onto the railing and swung her legs over to the other side so she could reach out and step onto the trellis. She was making good progress down the side of the house but as she neared about the half way stage her foot slipped again and she didn't have a chance to grab onto the trellis again before she was free falling the rest of the way, letting out a small cry just before landing hard on the pathway below.

The wind got knocked from her lungs and pain radiated out from her right side. After a few minutes of not moving she let out a long groan as the world tilted slightly on its axis even from her horizontal position on the floor and a dull sense of pain registered somewhere in the back of her mind. She lay there for a couple of minutes letting her body and mind catch up with each other. She closed her eyes as the reality of what had just happened registered with her again. She had made such a mess of everything and she suspected that now Regina would be even less inclined to talk to her. Emma opened her eyes again, her sea green orbs looking up at the hundreds of twinkling stars that were suspended in the inky black void of the night sky.

Emma took a deep breath before she rolled over onto her side and pushed herself up onto her hands and knees. Her back protested at the movement but Emma managed to get herself onto her feet. She headed back out of the side gate and began the fairly slow walk back towards the apartment she still shared with Snow and David where, as soon as she got up to her room, she fell onto the bed and fell into an uneasy and restless sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Thank you so much for all the follows and favourites on this story, it means so much!**

 **I am hoping i am going to be able to update this every weekend but that is going to completely depend on how busy i am as i am writing this with only a chapter in hand, so bare with me, i will complete it! So with that said... Enjoy!**

* * *

Emma woke very early the next morning, the sun was already streaming into the room from the window where she had forgotten to draw the curtains closed and her alarm for work had still not gone off, so Emma knew it was somewhere before 7am. She sat up in bed and then immediately regretted the movement as all the muscles from the top to the bottom of her back screamed in protest at the movement and her head started to pound. Emma swung her legs over the side of the bed so her feet rested on the cool wooden floor and then put her head in her hands.

Two thoughts sprung into her mind simultaneously, one being that she was pretty sure if she was to take a breathalyser test she would fail even after getting a few hours sleep, and the second being that she was sure she had gone and made everything with Regina worse after her little impromptu visit in the middle of the night.

She ran her hands from her face up into the long honey coloured hair that was flowing down around her shoulders and then pushed herself off the bed and stumbled towards the bathroom where she was hoping a nice, long hot shower would ease the muscles in her back and then she could readdress what she was going to do about Regina when her thoughts were a little clearer.

Emma walked into the bathroom and turned the shower on letting it warm up before she stepped inside. After she had undressed she stood in front of the floor length mirror, with her back to it and glancing over one shoulder to see if there was any visible damage from her fall the night before.

There was a lovely large bruise already turning a dark and stormy colour on the back of her right shoulder that extended down her ribs and another beginning to blossom on the patch of skin between her waist and hip also on the right side. Emma sighed, knowing that she would have to stay away from her signature tank tops so that no one would ask her how it happened, as she turned and stepped into the shower to let the hot water ease her mind and muscles.

After her shower she took her time in picking out something practical to wear for her shift at the station and decided on her signature skinny jeans and boots. For the top half it was a little trickier as normally she would have just chucked on the next tank top in her draw. In the end she settled on a long sleeved black v-neck top which she covered with a coffee coloured leather jacket and then headed out of the apartment letting her wet hair dry naturally.

* * *

The morning at the station was just as normal as any other day. Emma started it by actually doing some of the paperwork that was due next week, something she normally left until the day before it needed to be handed in. Normally she would take the morning to go out on patrol around the street of Storybrooke but she was pretty sure that getting behind the wheel of the police cruiser was probably not the best idea at the moment so she decided to put that off until the afternoon and drop off the paperwork that was due at the same time, something Emma was not looking forward to in case she came face to face with Regina.

As the morning progressed, the effect the hot shower had had on her aching muscles had started to wear off and Emma could feel her back and her shoulder beginning to stiffen with each passing minute. She had found a bottle of pain relief tablets in her desk draw which she had taken with water but they were not really doing much to help but she didn't really have any other choice other than to carry on as if nothing was wrong.

As the clock struck midday she got up from her desk and stretched her back out a little, but immediately regretted it letting in a sharp in take of breath at the radiating pain. She grabbed her jacket off the coat rack and gently pulled it on as carefully as she could. Emma then picked up the paperwork, which she tucked under her arm, and the keys to the cruiser and headed out onto Main Street.

She pushed the front door to Granny's Diner open and found herself one of the quieter booths at the back of the seating area. She slid into one side of the table and placed the paper work down in front of her. While she waited for Granny to come and take her order she flipped through all the pages making sure she had everything that she needed to hand in. Granny sidled up to the table and tapped her pen on the little note pad that she was clutching in her other hand. She gave Emma the usual look that said that she knew what Emma had been up to the night before and she didn't approve.

"Late night again was it?" asked Granny as she looked over Emma. The blonde didn't reply but gave the woman a look that said she really didn't want to talk about it.

"Can I just get my usual please, and can you make the coffee a large and to go?" Emma said sheepishly as she went back to pretending to look through her papers so she could avoid facing the older lady head on.

"Coming right up" Granny replied deciding that Emma didn't need the usual lecture today, something told her she was suffering more than usual and shuffled off to sort out the order. Emma on the other hand put the paperwork back down as soon as she was out of sight, then crossed her arms on the table and rested her head against them.

She was tired, sore and still a little hung over. Luckily having taken the pain killers it seemed to have cleared her headache and so now all she had to contend with was the pain down her side and her lack of sleep. Her thoughts turned to Regina and she wondered how upset and angry the woman was feeling this morning.

Emma knew going over there was going to end up being a decision she would regret and she definitely did. The lack of a relationship between the two of them was something Emma was starting to miss and now she was pretty sure the Regina was going to start to finding ways of making Emma's life hell,

It seemed like no time had passed before Granny was back and sliding the grilled cheese and coffee in front of her. Emma smiled gratefully before picking up half of the sandwich and taking a large bite from it, not realising how hungry she had been until that point and also realising she hadn't eaten anything since the lunch time the previous day, although that was quickly becoming the norm.

Once she had devoured her grilled cheese, which took no time at all, she picked up the coffee and the paperwork and headed over to the station parking lot so she could take the cruiser round to the Mayors office and then go out on patrol. She unlocked the cruiser and slid into the driver seat and then placed her coffee in the cup holder and the paperwork into the passenger's seat. She put the keys in the ignition and set off for the town hall.

Once the Sheriff had arrived outside the town hall and found a spot to park the cruiser in, all her confidence went out the window and she just sat staring out at the view in front of her with a thousand different scenarios playing through her mind and none of them having a good outcome. Emma took a deep breath and ran both of her hands along the steering wheel, feeling the leather beneath her palms.

She was starting to panic, all she had to do was walk in and drop the folders on the secretaries desk and walk back out again but she also knew there was an extremely slim chance that she could bump into the brunette and that was what was terrifying her, she had no idea how Regina was going to react to her.

Emma leant over and picked up the paperwork off the passenger seat and then ran her free hand through her hair, a habit she had of doing when she was feeling embarrassed or nervous. She then opened the car door, got out slowly as her muscles were now back to protesting, and started the walk up to the front doors of the town hall.

Emma's brown knee high boots made a slight clunk each time her feet came in contact with the marble floors, so any hope of slipping through the place quietly immediately went out the window. She navigated the various hall ways until she found the corridor where Regina's office lay. Emma stopped before she turned the corner and leant against the wall. In full spy mode she quietly lean forward and peaked around the corner to see whether the coast was clear, and to her utter relief, it was. She walked over to the desk, threw the paperwork into the in tray, spun on her heel and had taken a couple of steps away, just as the office door opened.

Emma half thought about just carrying on and pretending like she hadn't heard the door opening, but Regina cleared her throat and Emma realised she had been standing still, frozen from the moment she heard the door open, with her back to the Mayor. Emma slowly turned back around to face the office door and the imposing Mayor but didn't make eye contact.

Instead she found herself taking in the outfit that Regina had decided to wear that day. Long pressed black suit pants, killer black patent heels, a white shirt with delicate embroidery details across the front that was tucked into the waist band of the pants and a black suit jacket over the top.

"What are you doing here Sheriff?" questioned the Mayor in a tight and authoritative tone that made Emma want to shrink backwards like some naughty school child.

"I was just dropping off the paperwork, Regina." Emma gestured to the in tray on the desk but made the move with her right arm, forgetting about the bruised muscles in her back and her shoulder and so couldn't help the wince that flashed across her face as she did so. She felt the brunette's eyes boring into her and she knew that the eagle eyed woman would have noticed.

"Are you okay, Miss Swan?" Regina couldn't help but ask, the smallest hint of concern lacing around her question, but Emma knew this was more out of concern for her being able to do her job policing the town than Emma's well being but at least the brunette was talking to her, even if in short abrupt sentences.

Emma really wasn't sure how to answer. Did she tell Regina the truth and say that she obviously wasn't fine and that if the brunette had returned any of Emma's phone calls, texts or emails then she wouldn't have felt the need to climb up onto her balcony and try and make amends when she was absolutely hammered? That this in turn had then caused her to fall a substantial distance and now she was battered and bruised all over, but on one side more than the other, and all this could have been avoided?

Or did Emma take the easiest way out and lie to her and tell her that everything was absolutely fine? Emma took a deep breath and once again ran a hand through her hair because she was stressed and nervous, which again caused her to wince and retract her arm letting it fall back to her side. Regina noticed this again and took the tiniest step forward towards the blonde and Emma looked at her with her head cocked slightly to one side, wondering why now Regina was paying attention to her again, or at least trying to talk.

But Emma couldn't do it, whether it was because she was still embarrassed about her actions of the night before or because actually being able to speak to Regina made Emma not really know what to say, or where to start.

"I'm fine," Emma started to say but Regina shot her a look that told her she wasn't convinced and so Emma felt she had to expand "its nothing, really, just a small bruise. Bye Regina" and with that Emma spun on the heel of her boot and walked, almost marched, out of the office and back to the cruiser before she could be questioned any further.

* * *

The rest of the afternoon had gone just like most other days in Storybrooke. Emma completed her patrol round the town and even headed out to the woods, but there was nothing abnormal about anything and so she had returned to the station. She walked into the ladies toilets and took off her jacket and pulled the back of her t-shirt up at the back so she could see what the bruises were looking like.

The one on her shoulder was now a dark stormy purple colour, even dark blue in some places, and went from the top of her shoulder blade down to about the middle of her ribs. The one on her hip was not as large and wasn't quite as dark as the one on her shoulder but was still an impressive mix of colours. Emma carefully pulled her t-shirt back down and placed her jacket over her arm to carry out with her.

Emma walked back into her office and sat in her desk chair, leaning back and closing her eyes for just a few moments before sitting back up and opening her desk draw and taking out some more pain killers and popping them in her mouth swallowing them down with a mouthful of water from a bottle on her desk. After that Emma decided that for the rest of her shift she would do some organising of the files in the cabinets and set to work.

Emma only looked up as she heard the front doors to the building open and close and David entered into the station to begin his shift. He smiled at his daughter who he hadn't seen since the day before and went and perched on the edge of the desk.

"How are you? We didn't hear you come in last night." David stated while continuing to watch Emma sort a few last files. Emma stood up straight and turned to face him and shrugged her left shoulder.

"It's been quiet today, not a lot going on so I decided to organise some of the files." She picked up another folder off her desk and turned to put it back into the correct draw before sliding it shut and standing up straight again. David nodded even thought the blonde wasn't actually looking at him.

He was getting worried about his daughter. He knew that Emma had been going to the Rabbit Hole after work for a while now and that each night she arrived home she had drunk more than the time before but he had no idea how to approach the subject with her. After all Emma was an adult now and more than capable of looking after herself, except she wasn't. David knew she was hardly sleeping, that she wasn't eating that much because he had spoken to Granny, and that she was trying to cope with everything by finding the solutions to her problems at the bottom of a bottle. However she was still able to do her job and she still looked fairly healthy except for the circles that were casting dark shadows under her eyes.

Even Henry had begun to notice something was wrong with Emma and that was worrying. If a 12 year old could pick up the signs then it wouldn't be long before others would. On the nights that Henry stayed at the apartment he would quite often ask where Emma had got too as she would arrive home extremely late, going to the Rabbit Hole first before returning to the apartment and Henry was starting to miss spending time with his blonde mom.

"Are you heading home?" David asked in a light hearted manner, not wanting Emma to register any concern in his voice over what her answer might be. Emma glanced in his direction as she pulled her jacket on and zipped up the front.

"Not straight away, I have to go and do something first" and with that she walked out the office while offering her father a small wave. David sighed as he sat down in her office chair and started to think about a way he could help his daughter who seemed to be so lost.

Emma stepped out into the fresh air of Storybrooke and looked up and down the street. It was only 6pm, one of Emma's earlier finishes and so she turned and headed to the Rabbit Hole as she really didn't have anything better to do. She could go home and keep her mother company or take Neal off her hands for a couple of hours but right now she didn't think she could be around someone who was so cheerful, she just wanted some time to herself away from others. She pushed the door to the Rabbit Hole open and told herself she would just stay for a couple before heading home for the night.

* * *

At 11:30 the blonde stumbled from the bar, the pavement blurring and swaying with each step she took. The alcohol had thankfully numbed the throbbing pain she was still having in her back and side to a very dull ache which she was thankful for.

She thought about heading home, but for the last hour she had been mulling over her meeting with Regina earlier in the day and it had been making her more and more confused and now she had the alcohol in her system she wanted to ask Regina a few things and so before she even knew what was happening and before she had even really decided what she was doing she found herself once again walking back along the roads to the Mayors house.

Just a she had the night before, Emma made her way into the back of the white mansion and she was now stood at the bottom of the trellis she had fallen off the night before.

"You and me, we have a score to settle mister" she slurred as she pointed at the wall where the trellis was. She knew climbing it had to be a better option that climbing onto the garage roof again and so one hand and one foot at a time she began the slow but careful climb up the side of the house and up onto Regina's balcony. When she had landed and got her balance she truned back and learnt out over the side of the railing and loudly whispered down into the darkness

"Ha! Now were even!" She turned back to face Regina's balcony doors again, and saw that the brunette had replaced the broken window panel with a square of plywood. Emma raised her hand and knocked lightly on the wooden frame, hoping that as it was before midnight that Regina may not actually be asleep. The blonde waited a few moments but just as it was the previous night she couldn't make out any movement from inside so she raised her hand again and knocked again but a little harder.

Emma stepped back so she could support herself on the railing as the thick curtains inside the room were drawn back. This time there was no glowing fireball that greeted Emma from the other side of the glass and Regina did not forcefully open the doors either but she did look annoyed at being disturbed yet again. Regina pushed the handle down on the door and opened it, all the time keeping her eyes on Emma who had now taken to once again staring at her boots.

"Miss Swan, why on earth do I find you once again drunk, and on my balcony in the middle of the night? Do you not have a home to go to?" She asked in a stern, no nonsense manner, as she walked out into the cool night air, and letting Emma know she was, once again, not in the mood to be doing this with the Sheriff. Emma shifted her weight back and forth between each leg, the movement exaggerated by the alcohol; she took a deep breath and looked up at Regina wondering where she should attempt to start.

"Look, about earlier, why were you concerned as to whether I was hurt? It's not like for the past two weeks you have even registered that I exist, and I get why, I do, but why this afternoon? What made today different?" Emma finished, her voice had slowly and steadily been getting louder and most of the syllables had come out slurred but she had kept eye contact with Regina. Emma couldn't let the slight notes of hope seep into her speech. Emma was praying that Regina would answer her, hoping that maybe tonight would be the night wounds would begin to heal. Regina turned round and went to step back into her bedroom, to shut Emma out once again.

Before Emma could register the action she had reached out and placed her hand on Regina upper arm and was pulling her back round to face her. Emma let out a small cry as her aching muscles reacted to the action. Emma dropped her hand and took a deep breath before looking back up at Regina. Emma noticed a fire raging behind chocolate coloured orbs as the brunette glared at her but again Emma noticed there was still a hint of concern there as well.

"Please Regina, I just want to start to make this right between us and I don't know how many times I have to say I'm sorry to you, but I will say it every day if I have too." Regina paused for a couple of seconds before stepping back towards the blonde, the fire in her eyes dying slightly in intensity.

"Go home, Miss Swan. It is late and I am not having this conversation now or while you have been drinking." Regina once again spun on her heel and walked back inside her bedroom, this time Emma didn't make a move to stop her, knowing that Regina's patience would snap if she did and lowered her eyes to once again stare at her boots. Just before the Mayor shut the door she paused and looked Emma up and down, Emma noticed this and caught the older woman's gaze again.

"And put some ice on the bruises or some arnica gel, it should help" and with that she shut the door and drew the curtains back across leaving Emma outside again. Emma pushed off of the railing, and made her way back down the trellis, taking extra care of where she was putting her feet this time.

As Emma walked back to the apartment she couldn't help a small smile from ghosting across her face. There may not have been much conversation between the two women tonight, but there had been progress. Emma knew that on some level Regina still cared about her and knowing that made Emma even more determined to fix their friendship.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: So i know i am a little late in post this but i haven't finish writing the next chapter yet (oops) and i only like to post when that is done... however as this is a special day in the Once world i thought i would treat all you lovely people!**

 **Happy Birthday Jennifer Morrison!**

 **I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up, i am going to aim for Sunday but it may be a few days later...** **Thank you so much for all the new followers on this story and thank you so much for the reviews as well, i do read them all!**

* * *

The sun was only just rising when Regina blinked her eyes open stretching out her relaxed muscles as she did. She looked over at her alarm clock on her night stand and saw that it was a little after five in the morning. She had always loved this time of day, the colours the sun cast across the sky, the way the birds start to sing and the quiet calm that washed over the world. She let out a large sigh as the events on the balcony with Emma the night before replayed through her mind.

Ever since she had found out it was Emma's fault that Robins wife, Marian, was back in Storybrooke and Regina's chance at a happy ending had been ripped away from her again as she had said goodbye to him at the town line, she had been doing her best to stay away from Emma because anger just ignited inside her every time she saw the Sheriff.

However over the last week she noticed that these feelings were slowly, with each passing day, growing weaker and the fire wasn't burning so brightly when she saw the blonde. Regina had also realised when she had seen Emma or over heard conversations that the younger women's actions were starting to spiral out of control. The Mayor knew the blonde was now a daily visitor to the Rabbit Hole, she knew that Emma was not in the Diner that often which meant she probably wasn't eating a lot and she could tell from the darkening bags under her green eyes that she was hardly sleeping either.

Regina had begun to keep closer tabs on the blonde a couple of days before she first showed up on her balcony, mostly doing this through the use of magic and the mirror that hung in her office. The more she watched the more concerned she grew for Emma but she knew she was in no way ready to deal with the emotional side of seeing the blonde in person.

The first night a rather drunk Emma had found her way up onto her balcony Regina had been asleep when she had arrived. Somewhere in her dream state she could hear the light tapping, but it wasn't loud enough to wake or rouse her. The second round had caused her to stir and she found herself in that blissful groggy state somewhere between being awake and still dreaming.

The third time however, when Regina heard the glass crack she flew out of bed and headed over to the source of the noise. Being a former Evil Queen and someone most of the town despised or wanted dead, she was quick to ignite a fireball in her hand ready to throw it at whoever it was that was attempting to break into her home as she grabbed hold of the thick curtain and pulled it to one side.

When she saw it was Emma she paused, it was only for a split second as she watched as Emma slumped onto the floor of the balcony having lost her balance. Emma was the last person that she had expected to see. In the first couple of days after Robin had left Emma had tried to reach out to her, but Regina had point blank refused to acknowledge her. She had ignored every text, every phone call and if Emma had attempted to make conversation Regina had just walked away and since then Emma had not tried to talk to her, although Regina often knew that the Sheriff was watching her in meetings or if they were both in the same vicinity.

Regina quickly brought her focus back to the present and reached out and grasped her balcony door handle and yanked it open stepping out into the cool night time air. Regina could tell almost immediately that Emma had been drinking and she suspected that it had been at the Rabbit Hole. Her eyes were unfocused and her balance was obviously impaired due to the fact the woman had just ended up in a crumpled heap on the floor. Regina then quickly wondered how on earth the woman had managed to scale her house and make it onto the balcony in the first place.

After their brief conversation, if you could call it that, Regina had returned to her bedroom, leaving Emma outside to figure out her own way back down from the balcony. Regina closed the curtain behind her so that she could block Emma out. The brunette leant against the wall to the side of the balcony door and windows and took in a deep breath, closing her eyes and allowing her head to fall back. Her heart was pounding so hard she thought it may beat right out of her chest but she put this down to adrenaline of being woken quickly because, surprisingly, she wasn't angry.

Regina knew that Emma probably thought that she was, but really it was a front, because it was what Emma expected of her. It was a shield that Regina could put up in order to not let Emma in because Regina didn't want to face the emotions and conversations they were bound to have if she did.

She stayed where she was for a few minutes; listening out for sounds that would possibly shed some light on what the blonde was up to. She heard the faint scratching sounds coming from the wall and guessed at how Emma was getting back down to the ground again. Suddenly there was a slightly cry out and then an almighty thud.

Regina didn't dare look out the window to see what had happened because she didn't want Emma to see, although the brunette would not be surprised if Emma had forgotten most of this by the morning. There was a low groan heard from outside and Regina relaxed a little knowing that the blonde was at least conscious and let out a breath she didn't even know she had been holding. She continued to listen for other sounds coming from outside until she heard to side gate closing and once she had heard that she fell back into her own soft, warm bed and told herself to go back to sleep and analyse it all in the morning.

* * *

Morning seemed to come round extremely quickly for the brunette. It felt like it had only been five minutes since she had closed her eyes to fall back to sleep after Emma's little midnight visit but in reality it had been hours. It had been a restless sleep, images of Emma falling from great heights, of saying goodbye to Robin at the town line, images of her father and Daniel flashing behind closed lids. Regina slowly opened her eyes to greet another day and stretched out her entire body, trying to wake the sleep fatigued muscles before taking a deep breath, sitting up and sliding out of the warm comfort of her bed.

She walked into the en-suite bathroom and took a nice hot, relaxing shower trying to shake the last remaining traces of sleep from her mind and body. After her shower and as she re-entered her bedroom she glanced at the clock on her bedside table and realised it was a lot later than she had originally thought and that the bus would be coming to collect Henry any minute.

Regina grabbed her silk robe from the back of the door and threw it on quickly tying it up at the waist and pulling open her bedroom door before gliding down the stairs and heading into the kitchen where Henry was sat on a tall stool at the breakfast bar. He had a bowl of cereal sat into front of him and he had just scooped a mouthful when Regina had swooped in.

"Henry the bus is going to be here any minute, why have you not left yet?" Regina said as she flicked the switch on the coffee machine so it was starting to make a freshly brewed pot. She spun back round to glare at Henry as he had still not made any attempt to move from his position at the breakfast bar. The young boy rolled his eyes and sighed as she shoved the spoon in his mouth and then back into the bowl. He hopped down and picked his rucksack up from off the floor and slung it over his shoulder.

Henry smiled at his mother as he walked over to her and put his arms round her waist and pulled her into a hug. She froze, it wasn't very often that Henry showed her affection, but when he did she cherished every moment. She quickly brought her arms around his shoulders and gave him a gentle squeeze before he started to pull away.

"I will see you after school Mom, have a good day" and with that he took off for the front door, opening it and closing it again in quick succession. She smiled as Henry left the house and was a little relieved

that he had not asked her any questions about last night, meaning it probably hadn't woken him up. She once again looked at the clock that hung on the kitchen wall. She let out a sigh as she realised that she was going to be very late for the office. She poured herself a cup of coffee which she took with her back upstairs as she started to get ready for work.

* * *

The ornate silver desk clock began to chime signalling that midday had arrived and lunch was just round the corner. Regina looked up from the paperwork she had been working on and glanced at it, waiting for the 12 chimes to finish. Normally by this time Emma had been to drop off the weekly paper work that was required but so far Regina had not heard from the blonde or seen her and she was beginning to get concerned, especially after she had heard Emma cry out last night.

Regina started to fidget in her chair, not being able to concentrate on her work anymore as concern for the blonde was growing. No one had called her to say that Emma hadn't been into the station that morning which meant that she must be working and not seriously hurt but still the brunette could not focus and so she decided she would have to check for herself.

She pushed herself away from the desk and stood up and walked over the mirror that was hanging on one of the office walls. It was a beautiful round silver mirror with a spiral and floral design around the outer edge. Regina took a deep breath as she concentrated on what she wanted the mirror to show her. She raised her hand and waved it over the reflective surface of the mirror. It began to ripple out from the centre and the image changed from Regina's reflection to an image of Emma in her bug.

The blonde was currently running her hands over the leather of the steering wheel, a look of apprehension and slight panic apparent on her face. Regina noticed that Emma was currently parked in front of the town hall and realised it was because she may have to face the brunette that Emma was feeling like this. Emma leant over and picked up the paperwork from the other seat and got out of the car.

Regina raised her hand and once again waved it over the mirror, Emma began to ripple and the image faded and all that was left was Regina's reflection once more. Regina looked towards the office door trying to decide whether she should go over and talk to the blonde or leave her to drop the paperwork and go.

Regina went over and leant against the wall, away from the frosted glass so that Emma would not be able to see her and after a few moments she could start to hear the sound of foot falls on the marble flooring. Regina held her breath as she heard them stop just outside the door.

Regina pushed herself off the wall and pulled open the office door just as Emma had turned away to make her retreat. The Sheriff froze on the spot, not moving forward or turning to face Regina and it was making the brunette feel uncomfortable for the woman. Regina cleared her throat in an attempt to rouse the blonde woman out of whatever stupor she was in. Emma slowly spun towards her and Regina noticed that she couldn't make eye contact, but seemed to look okay at first glance. Regina couldn't help but notice how Emma was eyeing up the clothes she had picked out that morning.

"What are you doing here Sheriff?" Regina asked in a no nonsense, authoritative tone that came out a lot harsher than Regina had intended. Even thought she had spend most of the morning growing more and more concerned for the woman she couldn't help the small angry fire that ignited inside of herself upon seeing Emma in front of her. Clearly she still had some issues that she needed to work through.

"I was just dropping off the paperwork, Regina." Emma said as she gestured toward the desk. Regina caught the wince flash across Emma's features, it was minimal, barely noticeable but Regina had always had an eye for detail. In that moment Regina knew that the blonde had indeed hurt herself the night before. Regina quickly scanned over the blondes body looking closer for any sign of what would be causing her distress, but not seeing anything.

"Are you okay, Miss Swan?" Regina asked softening her tone; she couldn't help the slight concern that wound its way in. Of course Regina was worried about whether the Sheriff would be okay to continue in her job but Emma was standing, and walking and talking so the injuries couldn't be that serious. Regina could tell that Emma was trying to figure out how best to answer her and that the blonde was nervous, this was proven when Emma raised her arm to run her fingers through her hair

Regina continued to study the blonde and as Emma winced again, for the second time in as many minutes, she couldn't help but take the tiniest step toward the blonde, she stopped herself short though, remembering that their relationship was not what it once was. Emma looked up at her with a slightly questioning look on her face which Regina understood.

Of course the action would confuse Emma, Regina had not said a word to her in the last 2 weeks except for last night and even then she wasn't sure what Emma would remember knowing how drunk the woman had been. Emma claimed that she was fine but Regina knew this was far from the truth and shot a look at the sheriff, letting her know that she didn't believe her.

Emma expanded her answer, claiming it was nothing but a small bruise and before Regina could inquire any further Emma said her goodbye, spun round and walked away. Regina continued to watch the woman until she had disappeared from view. Regina let out a small sigh; she knew Emma was lying to her, she knew that what ever injuries Emma was suffering from was more than just a small bruise but Regina also knew that she had lost the right to ask Emma what exactly was wrong.

Regina lent over and picked up the paperwork from the tray on the desk and then walked back into her own office and set them upon her own desk. She sat down in her office chair and went back to working on the proposals she had been doing before Emma had shown up

* * *

Regina managed to keep her concentration on her job for the next couple of hours but she soon found her attention wandering back to the blonde. Today had been the first time she had been able to get a proper look at Emma as the night before it had been dark and the only light had been coming from the moon and stars, and briefly a fire ball.

Regina noticed today how drained, tired and exhausted she had looked. Emma's normally glowing golden locks had lost their shine and the normally fair complexion Emma had been graced with looked pale and ghostly. The bags which now shadowed her once bright alert eyes were growing darker by the day and the light within them was dimming.

Regina put her pen down on her desk realising she hadn't written anything within the last 10 minutes and stood up walking around to the front. She stood in the middle of her office with her hands on her hips knowing that her concentration for work had now well and truly vanished. The brunette ran her hands down the front of her trousers, a nervous habit she had fallen into much like Emma with her hair.

Regina glanced at the mirror on the wall but quickly looked away again, there as no way she was going to check in with the blonde twice in one day especially at it had only been a couple of hours since she had last used the mirror. Regina started to pace, knowing that she had to do something to either get the pent up frustration out or ease her mind.

After a few moments Regina glanced at the mirror again before marching over to it and waving her hand, not needing to concentrate on Emma because she quiet clearly couldn't think of anything else. The mirror rippled again from the center out just as it had earlier and changed to a view of Emma just walking into the bathroom at the station.

Regina was just about to wave her hand again, not wanting to invade Emma's privacy but stopped as she saw Emma begin to lift the back of her top up and before Regina could register the action and hide Emma from view she caught sight of something on Emma's back.

Regina couldn't help but let out a small gasp as she saw the extremely large and dark bruise that was covering the back of Emma's right shoulder. The colours were a swirling mess and extended well down the side of her rib cage. Regina could also make out the top of another bruise a little further down that was nowhere near as large but was still an impressive colour.

Regina continued to watch Emma as she lowered her t-shirt back down, picked up her jacket and exited the bathroom. She also continued to watch as Emma took a couple of pain relief tablets and then set to work on what looked like some reorganising. Regina waved her hand back over the mirror again and the image rippled away.

Regina took a couple of steps back away from the mirror and the backs of her legs bumped into the small grey couch she had set up in front of the fire place. The momentum of the action caused her to sink down into it and she placed her hand on her knees trying to steady herself.

Regina knew that Emma's behaviour was more than likely caused by herself; it was the only logical explanation for the timing of Emma's downwards spiral and the late night visit. Regina had all but ignored the blonde for the past 2 weeks, not even acknowledging her presence in front of others let alone if they ever found themselves in the same room with no one else around, and they had gone from friends, right back to how things were in the beginning. Actually right back to before that when Regina didn't even know she had existed.

The mayor knew she had the power to start making things right, or at least attempting to, but she had absolutely no idea where to start. Did she even want to? Emma had been the cause of her current heart break, the reason why the man she had loved was now living in New York with his newly resurrected wife and Regina wasn't sure if she could ever forgive Emma for that.

But on the other side of the scale Regina missed her friend. The mayor had never had many friends, her life in the Enchanted Forest had meant that Cora had always made sure she didn't have any and then when she became Queen everyone was too afraid to talk to her in such a way. When she cursed everyone here to Storybrooke it had been pretty much the same. She ruled the town with an iron fist and everyone was too scared of her to take anytime to talk to her, except for maybe Katherine but that changed after the curse broke and she found Frederick.

Regina would never admit it to Emma but she enjoyed her company. Yes the blonde could be an idiot at times but there was always a slightly endearing quality to those actions. Regina missed their weekly lunch meetings where they would talk about anything from issues in the town to Henry and even baby Neal.

Regina could also see it from Emma's point of view. When the sheriff had got whisked off to the Enchanted Forest and had seen the chance to save Marian from the cells, and ultimately execution, she wasn't just going to leave her there, that wasn't who Emma was. Emma was the Saviour, and that was exactly what she had done, she had saved Marian, and Regina did believe Emma when she said that she didn't know who Marian was. The bottom line was that Regina didn't believe that Emma had set out to cause her pain on purpose and so surely Regina could find a way to forgive her.

Regina ran her hands over her thighs again, ironing out the imaginary creases and stood up from the couch. There was no way that she was going to be able to go back to concentrating on her work now and decided that she would take the rest of the day off as there were no reports, budgets or meeting scheduled so she would tackle everything tomorrow.

An idea suddenly sprang into her mind and so she decided she would go home and cook Henry his favourite dinner and have a conversation with her son about his other mother. Maybe Henry had some inside information that she could get from him about how Emma was coping and maybe she could formulate a plan from there.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Thank you so much for all the new follows, favourites and reviews that have been left! I really appreciate the feedback and the support! Hopefully after this chapter there may be some progress between our ladies? I am not sure when the next chapter will be up, i am hoping i can do it soon and it will be jumping back to Emma's POV. So let get going...**

* * *

As soon as Henry opened the front door the wonderful aroma of his mom cooking his favourite meal washed over him in a tidal wave. He took a deep breath in and couldn't help but smile as the flavours of his mom's famous lasagna assaulted his senses.

Regina heard the front door close and the thud of Henry's backpack hitting the floor, as she turned round to greet him he stepped into the kitchen looking happy and excitement gleamed in his eyes. Regina walked over to him and pulled him into a hug, something Henry normally didn't like, but he surprised her by wrapping his arms around her waist and returning the affection.

"How was school?" Regina inquired as she turned back to pick up a pair of oven mitts from the counter top. She walked over to the oven just as the timer started to ring out loud. She pulled the mitts on, motioning to Henry to stand back as she took the lasagne out and placed it on the side next to where two plates had already been placed.

"It was ok, we had a pretty boring day doing maths, but I really enjoyed the history lesson. We have started looking at the Ogre Wars." Henry replied as he jumped up into one of the stools by the breakfast bar. Regina nodded her head in acknowledgment of what Henry was saying, but continued to dish up their dinner.

Regina was a little distracted while doing this because she was trying to think of how to bring up the conversation of Emma with Henry. Regina hadn't mentioned the blonde in over 2 weeks and Henry had learnt not to bring her name up either.

"Mom?" Henry questioned and Regina spun round to look at her son realising that he must have asked her a question and she hadn't heard.

"Sorry Henry, what did you ask?" she said as she offered him a small smile and concentrated on what he was saying.

"I asked if you were okay, you not normally home yet and you cooked lasagna." Regina let out a small sigh as she carefully but quickly thought through how she wanted to respond to him.

"Im okay Henry, I just wanted to come home and spend some time with you." Regina turned back to the counter and picked up the two plates of food and walked out of the kitchen and into the dining room where she had already set out the cutlery and drinks ready.

Seeing his mom leave he followed her and wondered why she had set the table when they normally sat in the kitchen and ate. Regina placed Henrys plate down to the left of her own, situated at the head of the table, and pulled out his chair for him before taking her own seat.

She picked up her fork and picked up a small bite delicately placing it into her mouth. Henry didn't hesitate in diving right into his favourite meal, picking up his own massive fork full. They ate in silence for a few moments, Regina contemplating what to say and Henry savouring the taste of the lasagna.

"So," Regina began as she placed her fork neatly down on her plate having only eaten a small portion and turning her attention to her son, "how have things been over at the Charming's apartment?" she question in a light tone knowing that Henry was going to be suspicious.

Henry stopped chewing as she asked and slyly looked at her out of the corner of his eye but Regina wasn't looking at him, she had picked up her wine glass and was taking a sip from it. Henry swallowed down his mouthful before taking a sip from his own glass, containing water, before looking right at her.

"Okay I guess, I mean it great spending time with my grand parents and Neal, he is growing so quickly, but I kinda wish I had more time with Em…" Henry stopped knowing that he shouldn't be talking about his blonde mother in front of his other mother and looked down at his plate.

Regina reached a hand out to him and placed it gently under his chin and lifted his head up so he was forced to look at her.

"Its ok Henry, you can say her name" she replied with a small, but surprisingly honest smile. She felt bad using Henry like this, but she knew it was the only way to get the information that she needed because she certainly wasn't going to go and talk to the Charmings.

Henry returned her smile although there was hint of sadness mixed in and took a deep breath before he continued.

"I love spending time over there. Grandpa is still teaching me to sword fight and Grandma really appreciated me helping her with Neal, even if it's just playing with him. He is growing so big and so quickly. But I miss spending time with Emma. I have hardly seen her over the last two weeks because she is either working late or she goes out after work. They think I don't know but I can smell it on her when she gets home."

Henry looked back down at his plate, sadness played out all over his face and his mouth was turned down slightly at the corners.

"I know she hurt you, when she brought Marian back, but she honestly didn't know who she was. Emma is the Saviour, she saves things, that's what she does but she didn't mean to make you sad Mom." Henrys voice had turned quiet and small as he finished his sentence and Regina knew that he was trying not to cry.

Regina pushed her chair back and got up, closing the small distance between Henry and herself. She bent down to his level and pushed his chair back and angling it towards her. She took hold of both of his hands in hers and tried to draw his attention to her.

"I'm not angry at her Henry, not anymore at least. I can't be mad at what Emma did, like you said she is the Saviour and she is too kind to allow someone to get hurt like that," she offered him a reassuring smile, letting him know that she wasn't lying and that she was telling him the truth "but I am still sad, yes. I really liked Robin and it hurt to say goodbye to him, but he is where he belongs, with his family."

Regina got back up and sat back down in her own chair now that she had Henrys attention. She ran her hands down over her thighs, wiping away the clamminess that had surfaced. She knew she had to pick her next words carefully because otherwise Henry would go running off to Emma and tell her everything and Regina didn't want that to happen.

"I know Emma is hurting because of me, because of how I have treated her over the last couple of weeks and I want to try to start to fix our friendship. But Henry you have to allow me to do this in my own time and not interfere. Do you understand?"

She gave Henry a pointed look letting him know she was serious and meant business. Henry looked down at his lap, thinking over everything his Mom had just told him and trying to understand it all in his head. He understood why his Mom was still sad, she had never seen her look at anyone the way she had looked at Robin, she had been happy, at least for a little while.

He also understood that it was going to take time for Regina to trust Emma again and vice versus, for them to be friends like they had been before. The whole situation had brought up very different feeling for both the women, Regina felt angry and hurt and betrayed by her friend and then in turn Emma had felt abandoned and rejected.

Henry looked back up at his Mom and he saw nothing but honestly staring back at him and he knew that if this was ever going to work then he needed them to figure it out by themselves and in their own way. He gave her a strong nod letting her know that he understood.

Regina smiled at him and opened her arms slightly offering him a hug should he want it. Henry got up from his chair straight away and flung himself into the familiar and comforting embrace. He turned his head towards her ear and spoke softly to his Mom.

"Don't give up on her okay, and try and help her? I think she needs you and I think you need her too." Regina smiled at the boy who was wise beyond his years and gently squeezed him a little tighter.

"I will try, my little prince"

* * *

Late that night, after they had watched a movie of Henry's choosing and had a treat of ice cream, Regina went into her son's room to say goodnight to him. She sat down on the edge of his bed and tucked the blankets around him. She lent forward placing a soft kiss to his forehead and wished him sweet dreams.

She left his room closing his door gently and headed to her own wanting to catch up on some reading. She walked into her en-suite and began her nightly ritual of removing her make up and applying her moisturiser. She dressed for bed and headed back into the main bedroom. She drew the curtains over her balcony door, remembering what had occurred the night before. She looked at the pane of glass that had been broken and waved her hand so piece of wood replaced it.

Regina could have just fixed it herself but she wanted Emma to remember what had happened if she came back again, as she had a feeling that the visit would not be a one time thing, and so decided to leave it as a reminder, at least for now.

She turned back to her bed, the fluffy pillows and quilt looking all too tempting to sink into. She pulled the cover back and slid in between the sheets. She lent over and turned on her bed side lamp so her little corner of the room was washed in soft light. She picked up her current reading book and opened it to the page she had book marked.

Her current read was a crime thriller novel, one about a serial killer terrorising a small town. She always liked to read these sorts of book as a lot of the time she could understand the killers reasons and motivations behind their actions, maybe it was because she had done far worse things.

A couple of hours passed and Regina looked at the alarm clock. She started to wonder if the blonde was going to turn up that night or whether Emma had learnt her lesson from the night before. Suddenly she didn't feel like reading anymore, she was wondering where and what the blonde was doing and whether she had gone back to the Rabbit Hole.

Regina placed her bookmark back into between the pages and placed it back onto her bedside table. Suddenly Regina knew that whether or not Emma did turn up she had to know what and how the blonde was doing. She pushed back the covers that were perfectly warm and slid off the bed; she walked over to her dressing table in the corner of the room and sat down on the small vanity stool.

Regina took a small deep breath and waved her hand over the mirror. It rippled and contorted until her reflection changed to a close up of Emma, She was sat on the bar stool, slightly slumped forward with her arm crossed on the bar in front of her. Several empty bottles and glasses were scattered over the bar in front on her and she was just finishing of what looked like a tumbler of whiskey, picking it up and downing the remain in one go.

Emma put her hand into her pocked at pulled out a few notes and left them on the bar, sliding off the stool and headed in a no where near straight line for the exit of the bar. Regina watched as Emma stopped outside the bar, a small frown on her face as she was clearly deciding on where to head next. Emma turned and instead of heading toward where her apartment was located she had turned in the opposite direction and Regina knew exactly where to blonde was going.

Regina took a deep breath trying to ready herself for the conversation she knew was going to take place. She waved her hand back over the mirror and the image rippled and changed back to a reflection of herself. She stood up from the vanity stool and went and perched herself on the edge of her bed and waited.

It was longer than she was expecting when she started the hear the slight knocking and scrapping noises that were slowing making their way up the side of her house, but she reasoned with herself that Emma had had to walk from the bar in her drunken state and that the path beneath the blondes feet had probably looking like it was moving and shifting.

The next noise Regina heard was a small thud which she suspected was Emma actually landing on the floor of the balcony but she was pretty certain that the blonde had not fallen down this time. She could just make out Emma's loud whisper of "Ha, now were even" and Regina couldn't help but wonder who on earth the blonde was talking too, reasoning that she had either brought someone along with her or the blonde was actually drunk enough to be talking to inanimate objects, the latter seemed the most plausible.

A small tap sounded from behind the drawn curtains but Regina did not make a move from the bed, she was not going to give Emma the satisfaction of knowing that she had been waiting for her. Knowing that the blonde would not give up until Regina went out to meet her; the brunette took a deep breath just as the next knock sounded.

Regina pulled back the dark curtain and looked out through the door at the blonde who had taken up the same position as she had the previous night against the balcony railings. Regina reached for the door handle but never took her eyes off Emma, trying to assess what sort of state she was in both mentally and physically.

The blonde was quite clearly drunk, her eyes were unfocused and even in the limited light of the night Regina could tell Emma's face was flushed with the warmth from the alcohol, but physically the blonde didn't look to be in too much pain, however Regina once again reasoned that the alcohol had probably dulled the pain.

Regina knew she could quite easily heal the blonde, make the bruises and the pain vanish in matter of seconds, but she wasn't quite ready to take that step yet, that was too much too soon for her and she didn't want Emma to think that everything was perfectly fine again even though Regina was slowly thawing towards the blonde.

Regina watched as Emma lowered her gaze to her boots, quite clearly still not sure where she stood with the brunette or what another late night visit would do for her mood. Regina stepped out into the night air again and in a slightly stern tone asked Emma why she had come back for the second night in a row.

In all fairness she wasn't actually that mad at Emma for coming back again, she was glad she had a chance to check the blonde over again and make sure she hadn't got herself into any trouble at the bar, she knew Emma could get a little feisty after she had had a few drinks but she still felt this need to keep up the appearance of not wanting to talk to Emma. She knew this was wrong and torturing the blonde was unfair, but for some reason she just couldn't let the facade go.

She watched as Emma started rocking from foot to foot clearly battling with herself over how or what to say to Regina until she took a deep breath lifted her head and green eyes met brown.

"Look, about earlier, why were you concerned as to whether I was hurt? It's not like for the past two weeks you have even registered that I exist, and I get why, I do, but why this afternoon? What made today different?" Emma's voice had been getting louder throughout the sentence as the confidence from the alcohol had taken over and there was something in Emma's voice that made her sound hopeful that things were going to be resolved.

Regina couldn't do it, not like this, not while Emma was drunk and certainly not on her time scale. Regina had to do this on her time and in her own way. Regina turned back towards her bedroom wanting time to think things over and if the truth be told she was scared that the woman had picked up on her thawing feelings but she stopped as she felt a strong hand on her arm pulling her back to face its owner.

This was a step to far and too soon for Regina and she felt a small fire burn inside her. She glared at the blonde but it softened only slightly when she heard Emma let out the small cry as Emma's aching muscles protested against the action.

"Please Regina, I just want to start to make this right between us and I don't know how many times I have to say I'm sorry to you, but I will say it every day if I have too." Regina couldn't help it, she felt her muscles relax, the fire burning out with in her and she stepped back towards the blonde, her voice and face filled with seriousness and authority.

"Go home, Miss Swan. It is late and I am not having this conversation now or while you have been drinking." Regina said to her before spinning once again to head back into her bedroom. She knew she had just invited Emma to try and make amends, she knew the at some point Emma would reach out to her to try and make things right but she also knew that in Emma's current state she may not see this for what it was, an olive branch and so Regina decided to take another step towards making amends.

She turned back round to face Emma just before closing the balcony door. Emma had gone back to looking at her boots but when she sensed Regina had paused in the door way she lifted her head to once again look at the brunette.

"And put some ice on the bruises or some arnica, it should help" and with that she shut the balcony door and drew the curtains back over not before noticing that a small glimmer in Emma's sea green orbs had returned. Regina took a step back from the curtains and sat on the edge of the bed. She waited until she had listened to Emma climb back down the trellis, listening out for any noise that would indicate that the blonde had once again fallen off the side of the house, but no noise came and once Regina heard the side gate close she got up, moved to the top of the bed and climbed back into the soft sheets.

Regina knew the offering to Emma was small but she also knew that Emma would hold onto it like a life line. Regina sighed hoping that Emma would not be so stupid as to call or text her tomorrow asking to talk but she knew what the blonde was like. Regina rolled over to face away from the balcony door and took a deep relaxing breath willing sleep to take her.

Her final thoughts before it did was that she knew the time had come to put their differences and recent pasts behind them but Regina also knew it was going to be difficult and she had to be able to do it in her own time.


	5. Authors Note

**Authors Note**

Hello everyone who is following this story. Firstly i want to say a massive thank you for being patient and for the reviews and follows it has gained!

I am sorry that i have not updated this story in forever, i just wanted to drop you a quick note to say that i haven't forgotten about you and that i will be writing and posting a new chapter for this story as soon as possible.

I had a vision of where i wanted this to go, however as I'm writing its changing slightly and so i got a little lost on where i wanted this to finish. However i have been thinking long and hard about it and i think i now know the path i want it to take.

So now all that's left is to write the journey...


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